What is worse this time is that they have dismantled so much of our manufacturing capability and sent it to our future enemies.
A statement that has been said so often that it is believed. The manufacturing base in the US has been fairly constant over the years. It goes down during a recession (when all the statements are made about the manufacturing base leaving the US) and goes up in good times. But so does everything. It is just that manufacturing is singled out because of the higher pay for most of those jobs.
Plus, States that once had a large base are profiled (like Michigan) but others that have gone from zero (like Tennessee) are ignored.
Electronics are one area that the US, on purpose, let the Japanese after WWII have as their base. It helped the economy of Japan move from the feudal age into the 20th century. Japan is hurting more than us in this area because of Korea (Samsung).
The US will always have the edge and will not lose its manufacturing base as long as it stays mostly in the free market of capitalism. Other countries are more state managed and get into trouble because they bet on outmoded technologies.